Simpson College

The students participating in this interdisciplinary project will apply differential equations and biostatistics to model prairie restoration in Nebraska. We are interested in how restoration management decisions on planted seed diversity impact insect diversity. For the first problem, students will analyze data collected in 2012 and use ordination techniques to assess community-wide responses of invertebrates to planted seed diversity. In the second problem, students will develop a system of differential equations to model invertebrate richness and plant richness.